The present invention relates to jewelry for wearing on a person's body, and more particularly to an ornamental pendant including a tool that can be a spare key.
There are many situations in which a person has a need to carry a tool such as a spare key, such as for unlocking a house or car. For example, when doing outside activities, it can be cumbersome to carry a key or set of keys because at times it may be necessary to put the keys down, making it possible for the keys to be mislaid or lost. While the keys can be placed in a pocket of the person's clothing, not all clothing has pockets. Further, the person may be doing an activity, such as working out at a gym, in which it would be uncomfortable for the person to carry the keys in a pocket.
There are several methods for carrying spare keys. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,606 to Svihovec discloses an emergency bendable key bendable adapted to be worn as a ring. In order to use the key, the user must unbend the key by using a tool or stepping on it. The key can then be rebent into the ring shape. The main disadvantage of this method for carrying a key is that after a few straightenings bendings, the key would break, thus making it necessary to get another. Also, it may be difficult to sufficiently straighten the key for operating a lock.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,824 to Blackmon discloses an ornamental openable housing for removably holding a house key, the housing being suspended around the neck of a person by a neck chain. One disadvantage of this method is that the key must be completely removed from the housing in order to be used. Also, the housing could come open causing the key to fall out.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,666 to Keefer discloses a key support apparatus including a housing for pivotally mounting first and second key holders at opposite ends. The key holders are spring biased for rotation within the apparatus and are maintained in a first position by a latch and released to a second position upon release of the latch. As with carrying a key chain, this apparatus is not worn on the person, making it possible for it to be lost or mislaid, or inconvenient to put into a pocket. Also, operation of the apparatus is cumbersome, subjecting a user's fingers to potential injury during use, in that the keys are not locked in the second position, and the pivotal movement between the two positions is a potential source of pinching.
Similarly, typical carriers for other tools such as knives and files fail to effectively lock the tool component in an extended position and/or have pivoting movements that can produce injury by pinching or the like.
Thus there is a need for a way to carry a tool such as a spare key that avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.